PF was in Dothan last night for a meet/greet and a talk to raise money for the Wiregrass Children's Home. I thought about going until I found out the tickets were $150. Then I realized I had already scheduled to rearrange my sock drawer last night. Anyway, the reporter with the Dothan Eagle is the Bammer beat writer so take the Auburn fans have a complex question with a grain of salt. But note, he did ask him about his man-love for Lord Saybinz. I did think some of his answers were pretty revealing. Copypasta
Finebaum shows soft side
By: Ken Rogers | Dothan Eagle
Published: August 15, 2012 Updated: August 15, 2012 - 12:45 AM
This comes from the man himself, who wore the tag almost like a badge of honor during an appearance in Dothan last night.
The nationally syndicated Mouth of the South shared his opinions with football fans at the Dothan Opera House, which hosted a benefit for the Wiregrass Children’s Home.
Here’s a sampling of F-baums:
On how long the SEC’s dominance will continue: “I don’t see USC as being a team that’s capable of knocking off Alabama or LSU. Florida State, I think, will have a say so. I think it will happen. It’s hard to predict the end. I’m surprised it’s gone this long. In no way is that a shot at what’s happened. Anything in sports, as we all know, you’re going to run out of time. It doesn’t take much to knock you off.
Who does he really root for in the Iron Bowl? “I don’t really care unless it has something to do with my job. I will tell you … in 2009 I was rooting for Alabama because I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl. In 2010 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, before the game, I picked Auburn to win. … I was pulling for Auburn. I wanted Auburn to win the game. I thought it was one of the great stories. … Cruel as it may sound, I’m in business. National championships are a lot more important than who wins the Iron Bowl. So if there’s a national championship on the line I’m pulling for the team that’s going to win the national championship. That was Auburn in 2010.
Why are you in love with Nick Saban? “It’s really not Saban, it’s his wife.â€
On Troy’s Larry Blakeney: “I think he’s one of the most underrated coaches in college football history. I really think the job he’s done – and I know last year was unusual – but it’s been a phenomenal story. I’m a huge Larry Blakeney fan. He took the fall for coach (Pat) Dye and for others and it did cost him. He undoubtedly would have been at an SEC school, probably Mississippi State, maybe somewhere else. … I think not only would he have gotten a job, he would have been really good. He has a way with young people that I think is rare in college athletics. Whenever he leaves Troy and people stop and think of what he did and what he’s built there, it’s going to be one of the more amazing stories in college football history at that level. It’s a phenomenal story.â€
Why is there a complex with Auburn fans when Auburn’s had the upper hand over the last 20-30 years? “It’s just part of the state. I noticed on the license plates it says Alabama, it doesn’t say Auburn. Pat Dye changed the dynamics. Auburn is the other school, but I also think that’s what motivates Auburn. … Alabama has won as many national championships in the last three years as Auburn has in its history. The stats are great, but so what? There is a wide division between Auburn and Alabama right now. It can change, though.â€
On Gene Chizik: “Chizik is a very good coach. (Tommy) Tuberville, I thought, punted his last couple years down there. He hurt the program. Chizik, to me, is first rate.â€
On Nick Saban: “Saban is doing this at a great school. His system at Alabama rivals or exceeds any in the NFL. It is an NFL franchise. You go down there, there’s nothing like it in college football. He puts the system in place and he manages the system.â€
On when he knew Alabama would beat LSU in the title game last January: “I was in Harrah’s on Thursday night before the championship game on Monday night. I wasn’t gambling. I was with a group of guys. We were watching (LSU QB) Jordan Jefferson gamble. I ran into an Alabama assistant coach. Why was he in there? He was there to make sure his players got back to the Marriott by midnight.â€
On your callers? “The show is different. You do get to know these people. It’s very special.â€
On Jim from Crestwood: “If there’s a more hateful man in America than Jim from Crestwood, I have not met him.â€
Yet it was Jim from Crestwood who provided the impetus for a moment that profoundly affected the sportstalk host. Crestwood Jim sneered that Finebaum would never meet with another caller to his show, Robert from Waterloo, Iowa, a 33-year-old man with cerebral palsy.
Finebaum shared the story of the trip to Iowa. He was joined by another infamous caller, Tammy, who took her first airplane flight that day.
“I took an Alabama cap and shirt. Tammy kept taking it off and putting the Auburn one on,†he said. “What was amazing to me is Tammy – this foul-mouthed, at times disgusting Auburn fan – became a human being. She mesmerized Robert. He was just enthralled by her. I don’t know Tammy’s background. She had fun with him. They were laughing.â€
Finebaum linked that day with the purpose of his visit to Dothan.
“It was one of those moments you will always remember,†said Finebaum, who didn't charge a penny for his appearance at the fund-raiser for the Wiregrass Children's Home. “Here’s a guy (Robert) that started out as a caller to a radio show. He reached out and we somehow were fortunate to find a way to give something back.
“It’s how I would like to end tonight. This is what it’s about. It’s trying to help folks who really don’t have the same breaks and same help and support and push that I got from my mom, and so many of you have been able to get as well.â€
Paul Finebaum is the most hated man in the SEC – by those who don’t really know him at all.
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